WORLD BANK LOANS WITH STRINGS ATTACHED

Did you know that Kenya’s borrowing has amassed to over $69 billion USD during President William Ruto’s first year in office? New data from the Treasury and Central Bank of Kenya place the country’s debt at Ksh10.189 trillion ($69.3 billion) at the end of June 2023 compared to Ksh 8.579 trillion ($58.4 billion) in June last year.

Staggering numbers, right?

And Kenya doesn’t plan to stop there as explained by our brother in this video. The World Bank plans to lend Kenya $12 billion over the next three years, thus burdening the taxpayer with more repayment obligations. And now, with the potential privatization of public institutions, the economic-financial hole keeps getting deeper with no reprieve in sight.

While growth in external loans is partly attributed to a weaker exchange rate, with the shilling having shed nearly 20 per cent of its value against the US dollar, President Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, behave as total strangers to the term “fiscal responsibility.” They’ve incurred a whopping Ksh 1.3 billion, easily over $8 million dollars, in travel expenditures while visiting 34 countries and making a total of 51 trips between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

As our brother Bwakali explains, there should be a referendum regarding the country’s borrowing.

Do you agree?